La Loi sur les services en français oblige le gouvernement à offrir de façon proactive des services juridiques en français. La loi est claire : la qualité des services gouvernementaux doit être la même en français qu’en anglais.

Cependant, les expériences des francophones démontrent que dans nos cours de justice et nos tribunaux administratifs ce n’est pas le cas. Les francophones sont trop souvent traités comme des inconvénients et des boulets, et forcés de naviguer des processus en anglais. Ils sont obligés de remplir des formulaires en anglais, d’écouter des réponses à leurs questions en anglais ou d’attendre très longtemps avant que du personnel francophone soit disponible pour les aider.

Il est clair qu’il existe un manque cruel de juges et de personnel bilingue dans nos cours et tribunaux administratifs. Donc, au lieu de dépenser plus d’un milliard de dollars pour prioriser l’accès à l’alcool aux Ontariens, ce gouvernement va-t-il investir les fonds nécessaires pour embaucher plus de juges et de personnel francophones dans nos tribunaux pour que les Franco-Ontariens puissent accéder aux services en français auxquels ils ont droit?

I recognize the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services.

Community organizations play a crucial role in addressing social issues and inequality. Whether it’s offering food assistance, mental health support, education and rehabilitation programs, or assistance to find housing, these organizations work tirelessly to uplift the most vulnerable members of society, addressing gaps in government services. The Vanier Community Services Centre, the CALACS, Montfort Renaissance, Le Cap, Lowertown Community Resource Centre, St. Joe’s Women’s Centre, Centre espoir Sophie, Gloucester Emergency Food Cupboard—all these organizations and many more play this important role in Ottawa–Vanier. All of them, however, have described to me how the decreased funding they have seen over the last few years is threatening their very survival.

Because of their deep roots in the community, these organizations are uniquely positioned to develop and implement tailored solutions to local challenges in an efficient and cost-effective manner. By providing adequate financial support to these organizations, the government can amplify their impact and achieve greater outcomes at a fraction of the cost. So I beg the government to provide the financial support required to keep these entities alive and thriving.

My question is for the Minister of Health. I cannot stress enough how importantly my riding needs solutions for access to primary care. Multiple groups of health care professionals have responded to the minister’s call for interest and submitted proposals to open more primary care clinics in Ottawa–Vanier. That was six months ago. People feel abandoned as they remain without proper health care services, and yet there is no response from the ministry.

Speaker, I showed the minister a map showing the void that exists in my riding when it comes to health care services. I’ve also written, providing evidence as to the need for help to fill that void in Ottawa–Vanier. We have professionals ready to help relieve the strain on our local hospitals. All they need is for this government to step up.

Can the minister please tell these health care professionals when they can expect a response so they can get to work providing much needed health care services to the people of Ottawa–Vanier?

Le Carrefour de pédiatrie sociale de Vanier, avec son équipe multidisciplinaire, dessert les enfants et les jeunes vulnérables d’Ottawa–Vanier en leur offrant un soutien dont ils ont besoin pour leur bien-être physique, mental, social et émotionnel. Le CAP, dans ma circonscription, offre également des services en français de la petite enfance à l’âge adulte, pour ceux qui font face à des défis de santé mentale ou de dépendances. Ces deux organismes nécessitent un financement qui leur permet d’assurer l’offre continu de leurs services, ce qui n’est pas le cas dans le moment.

Ce gouvernement a récemment annoncé des millions de dollars supplémentaires pour élargir les services pédiatriques à Hamilton et à Toronto. Quand la ville d’Ottawa verra-t-elle un tel engagement de la part du gouvernement pour soutenir les organismes comme le Carrefour de pédiatrie sociale de Vanier et le CAP, qui offrent à nos enfants des services essentiels?

My question is also for the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions. Consumption and treatment services sites have a role to play in harm reduction, but their implementation, and specifically their placement, need to be carefully considered. There are four of those consumption sites in the entire city of Ottawa, and three of them are located in my riding of Ottawa–Vanier. And they are all located within 600 metres of one another and right by the ByWard Market.

As a result of this cluster and the proximity to, namely, elementary schools, the surrounding community has been severely impacted. Residents have seen an increase in violence, thefts, open drug dealing, drug use and people overdosing, which is even a bigger issue due to the high number of children attending school in the area. In fact, a daycare even had to close their door because they could no longer expose the children and their staff to the hardship created by the situation.

My question to the minister is, can the minister explain how the concentration of these three consumption sites were allowed in this one area, and what steps are being taken to limit the impacts on the community?

My question is for the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services.

Numerous families, including Sarah and her son Félix Demers, in Ottawa–Vanier are facing unreasonable challenges with the Ontario Autism Program. Sarah started the process to get help for her son three years ago, but she came across multiple barriers and wait-lists. As a result, her son Félix, who is now five years old, has aged out of programs in school. These children are being left behind.

What measures has the minister taken to address the wait-lists, ensuring timely access to essential support services for children with autism spectrum disorder?

Families face significant uncertainty while waiting for support from the autism program. Families are receiving no assistance and no communication as to when they might be able to get help.

Sarah told me, “We have now been waiting years for help, during the most vital years of our son’s developmental stages and just remain on the OAP’s wait-list as a generic number.”

The lack of communication is distressing and unacceptable. The least the government could do to reduce the distress of those waiting families is to establish a user-friendly communications platform through which families could at least track the progress of their applications.

What steps will the minister take to ensure that families, including Félix’s, have transparent and timely access to information regarding the status of their applications?